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Corning girls fall, 6-0, in state quarterfinal

Hannah Geller and Jessica Levinson scored a minute apart before the game was 15 minutes old, and Section 9’s Monroe-Woodbury continued on to a 6-0 Class AA state quarterfinal soccer victory over Corning on Saturday at Johnson City.

The Hawks’ season ended at 11-5.

“We came out in the first few minutes on our heels, trying to wait and figure them out,” Corning coach Julie Pierce.

The speedy Crusaders took advantage, with Geller scoring the game’s first goal with 26 1/2 minutes left in the first half. It started when Brianna Delco made a steal in the middle of the field, about 45 yards from the goal. Delco dribbled about 15 yards before centering a pass to Geller, who one-touched it into the goal.

That crossing marked a theme for M-W, which played the ball into the penalty area from the flanks to great success.

Less than a minute after Geller’s goal, Nicki Scancarello sent a cross in the direction of Levinson, who scored from about seven yards to make it a 2-0 lead.

Levinson broke free from the defense and found Gabrielle Varley to put the Crusaders up 3-0, about six minutes later. M-W scored again before halftime to increase its lead to 4-0.

Corning’s young team had many bright spots, most notably senior Hailey Bicknell, who created many chances. The Hawks’ best chance came with under two minutes left. Bicknell went one-on-one with backup goalie Erica Doeing, who made a diving stop before covering the loose ball.

“We exceeded all my expectations this season (and) got a lot better as the year went on,” Pierce said. Corning’s coach also gave credit to Monroe-Woodbury.

“They are really good, every single kid on their team is outstanding,” she said.

The Crusaders (18-3) will play Section 3’s Baldwinsville in a state semifinal Saturday at Tompkins Cortland Community College.